Cruz at the center of battle over abortion and a possible government shutdown

Planned Parenthood battle pits junior senator, Cornyn in GOP clash

﻿Presidential candidate Sen. Ted Cruz﻿ is rebelling against his fellow GOP senators' efforts to pass a spending bill with money for Planned Parenthood. Democrats have blocked a bill to strip that cash from the group. less

﻿Presidential candidate Sen. Ted Cruz﻿ is rebelling against his fellow GOP senators' efforts to pass a spending bill with money for Planned Parenthood. Democrats have blocked a bill to strip that cash from ... more

Photo: Jose Luis Magana, FRE

Image 2 of 2

﻿John Cornyn of Texas﻿, the second-ranking Republican in the Senate, has implied Cruz's efforts are "futile gestures," saying that the only way to keep the government running is to pass a funding bill.

﻿John Cornyn of Texas﻿, the second-ranking Republican in the Senate, has implied Cruz's efforts are "futile gestures," saying that the only way to keep the government running is to pass a funding bill.

Photo: ZACH GIBSON, STF

Cruz at the center of battle over abortion and a possible government shutdown

1 / 2

Back to Gallery

A year ago, even as Republicans were poised to win control of the U.S. Senate, some worried about the impact of four GOP lawmakers planning to run for president, including Texas Republican Ted Cruz.

Now a candidate, Cruz has not shied from risking a government shutdown next week, much to the consternation of GOP leaders in the House and Senate, including fellow Texan John Cornyn, the second-ranking Republican in the Senate.

In many ways, it is the tale of two Republican senators from Texas with very different ideas about how to press the fight against abortion rights.

But the Cruz wing of the Republican Party got a scalp Friday with the resignation of House Speaker John Boehner, who has been under intensifying pressure from Cruz's conservative allies in the House willing to force a shutdown over funding for Planned Parenthood, the health care provider that has come under attack in hidden camera footage purporting to show the illegal sale of fetal body parts.

Related

Boehner's surprise decision came as Cornyn and other party leaders scrambled to move forward with plans to pass a stopgap funding measure to keep the government running past midnight Wednesday, the end of the current fiscal year.

Standing against them is Cruz, who has been circulating a letter seeking the support of his Senate colleagues to oppose any legislation that provides money for Planned Parenthood, even if it means gridlock.

Cornyn, while stopping short of questioning Cruz's motives publicly, has taken note of his colleague's White House ambitions, suggesting that it is an arena that emphasizes dramatic gestures over real-world results.

With Senate Democrats having successfully filibustered a funding measure that would defund Planned Parenthood, Republicans leaders say they have no choice but to pass a temporary resolution that contains money for the group - the only way to keep the government running.

"Having attempted and voted for a bill that would defund Planned Parenthood, it is clear that we simply don't have the votes," Cornyn said. "So rather than go through a government shutdown drama that would actually damage the pro-life cause, we will be voting on that legislation."

Undeterred, Cruz rallied supporters at a Values Voter Summit on Friday, vowing to keep up the fight against Planned Parenthood and promising that as president he would immediately open a Justice Department investigation into the women's health organization over "these horrible videos."

Translator

To read this article in one of Houston's most-spoken languages, click on the button below.

On March 6, Texas voters will decide who will carry the Democratic party's mantle into the battle for governor and a slew of other statewide offices. Click here for full coverage of the primary elections. Find our voters guide here.

Planned Parenthood says the videos were "heavily edited" to give the misleading impression that the organization profits from the sale of fetal tissue for research, which its leaders say it does not.

Framing the federal funding battle as a matter of principle over practical politics, Cruz has accused his party leaders of "capitulation" by promising that there will be no government shutdown.

"On its face, the promise sounds reasonable," Cruz wrote in an op-ed in Politico this week. "Except, in practice, it means that Republicans never stand for anything."

A preliminary Senate vote is scheduled Monday on a bill that would keep the government running until December 11.

But while Cruz will likely be outvoted, he has shown his willingness before to slow down spending measures he doesn't like in the Senate, where a single lawmaker can drag things out by merely withholding consent.

Cruz made his first big splash in the Senate two years ago with an all-night speech to defund Obama-care, part of a standoff that led to a two-week government shutdown.

He followed up last December in a losing gambit to halt President Barack Obama's immigration policies, initiating a procedural showdown that irritated Senate leaders by forcing a rare weekend session.

Cornyn and GOP Majority Leader Mitch Mc-Connell say they sympathize with the effort to strip Planned Parenthood of its federal funding, but they argue that the annual appropriations process is not the way to do it.

For one thing, Cornyn says, the vast majority of the organization's federal funds come through Medicaid and other federal programs with long-term funding that isn't subject to annual spending bills.

But in the meantime, Cornyn has promised that the GOP leadership will look for other ways to go after Planned Parenthood dollars, including using "budget reconciliation," a controversial process intended to get around the Senate rule that requires a 60-vote majority to end a filibuster.

But all that is promised later, along with investigations of Planned Parenthood and a raft of bills restricting late-term abortions intended to mollify conservatives.

"There will be other votes," Cornyn said.

But that has done little to satisfy Cruz and other hard-liners in Congress who want to use a "must-pass" government funding bill to take a stand on a controversy that has taken up a lot of oxygen in the Republican presidential nominating contest.

Asked if presidential politics is one of the drivers behind the shutdown threat, Cornyn said, "Of course."

Meanwhile, the White House has promised to veto any measure that defunds Planned Parenthood, which Democrats view as a vital women's health organization.

With or without the legislative shortcut known as reconciliation, some GOP strategists note that it does little good to send a bill to Obama's desk when there is no chance he will sign it.

In a tough spot

Cruz and his supporters say they don't want to wait until 2017 in the hope of sending a bill to a Republican president who will sign. Republicans, they say, need to make their stand now.

"Between now and the inauguration of the next president, Planned Parenthood will carry out more than 440,000 abortions," said Dan Holler, a spokesman for the conservative group Heritage Action for America. "The objective is not simply 'to get a bill on President Obama's desk.' The primary objective is to defund this organization. Pro-life members should not be asked to cast a vote for a bill that sends money to Planned Parenthood."

But that is what they will likely have to do on Monday or Tuesday, and it may take the help of Democratic votes to do it. That has put not only Cornyn and McConnell in a tough spot, but also Boehner, whose resignation doesn't take effect until Oct. 30.

At the same time, Democrats have signaled a desire to extract spending concessions in exchange for their cooperation, leading Cruz and others to point the finger back at Democrats if the government closes for business on Thursday morning.